Silo.



No. 734,722. PATBNTED JULY 28, 1903.

F. S. LORD. SILO.

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CAZOrN/ey UNITED JSTATES Fatented fl'uly 28, IQ.

"PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS S. `LORD, or BOSTON,- MASSACHUSETTS, AsSIcNoR To` THE A. T. sTEARNs LUMRER COMPANY, A CORPORATION or MASSACHUSETTS.

SPECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No.-73`4,722, dated uuiyes, 190e;

Application filed March 2, 1903.?

.To all` whom t may concern: V Be it known that I, FRANCIS S. LORD, a citi.; zen of the United "States, residing at Boston, a

in the county of Suffolk, State of Massachuthe necessity of sending to a distance to re-U place injured parts.

p Aneconomy is effected in the initial expense, which renders it possible without increasing the cost to the user of the structure to erect a silo of durable maj terial-such as cypress wood, for instanceinstead of pine or other wood liable to detefi rioate in a relatively short space of time.

A silo is required to withstand extreme contrasts of weather, it being subject to shrink-ii age and loosening of the parts during the summer and to swelling and binding thereof Furthermore, extremef cold renders the metallic portions of the silo;v

'during the winter.

liable to breakupon sustainingevencompara- Vltively lightblows, such as may occur by ac- .f

cident'or miscalculation in the adjustment; use, and repair of the parts. Strains may also; be created in tightening bolts that pass` through metallic parts sufficient in degree tol occasion the immediate or subsequent fracture of such parts. A r

The present invention will first be described in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, which illustratesthebest form of embodiment yet devised by me therefor, and afterward theessential characteristics of the improvement will be particularly pointed out and distinctly defined in the claims at the close of this specication.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective y view of the portion of the silo to which the improvements relate. Fig. 2 is a horizontal serial No. 145,680. (No modem front elevation of the doorway detached;

showing` the means employed to maintain the parts in proper relation" while the silo is be- .ing erected; Fig. 4 is a perspective view being successively slid into place and successi vely removed therefrom in the course of use of the silo.

In Figs. l, 2, 3, and 5 of the drawings the numeral l is applied to each of the` upright staves,lwhich serve as the jambs of the doorway of the silo. 2 2l designate the adjacent 'staves on each side thereof, a complete circle of staves being usually employed, leav- `ing,.however, the doorway clear.

3 3 are the door-sections, disposed in a vertical series in the opening of the doorway and adapted to4 slide up and down therein.

4 4 are metallic strips located at the edge portions ofthe rear surfaces of the jambs and projecting ove-r theopening of the doorway, 'so as to bear against the Aside edge por tions of the rear surfaces of the door-sections and hold the latterpressed into Contact with the jambs.

5 5 designate bolts passing-.through the jambs from front-to backand passing also through holes in the 'metallic strips 4 4, and being headed at the rear of thelatter.

7 7 are hand-nuts applied to the ends of the bolts at the front surfaces of the jalnbs. I

It will be observed that the bolts 5 5 do not the bolts is exerted wholly inwardly by the..V

resistance of the door-sections to the clamping action of the metallic strips 4 4, and this strain is limited by the extent of the clamping action required, which is comparatively slight. i The absence of lateral strains upon the bolts renders their endwise movementin IOO ensilage or `open a way for the admission of air thereto.

applying and releasing the clamping action just mentioned entirely free and renders, unnecessary the application of excessive strain upon the hand-nuts in applying the clamping action and the application of blows in releasing the same, thereby obviating the danger of fracture ofthe parts already spoken of.

The rear surface of each jamb is shown as flared in the direction of the doorway-opening, and there is a beveled surface between the same and the edge of the jamb bordering the opening, said beveled surface being des-1 ignated 8. The side edges of the door-sections are correspondingly beveled. To the surfaces 8 8 are applied strips 9 9 of rubber or other packing material. Another form is ,shown in Fig. 4, in which a rabbet takes the place of the bevel of Figs. 1 and 2, the jambs being designated 10 10, the rabbets 11 11, the packing-strips 12 12, and the door-sections 13 13.

Located outside the series of door-sections are braces 14 14, preferably of wooden construction. The side edges ofthe braces abut lagainst the free side edges of the jambs.

Dowels 15 l5 (shown in dotted' lines in connection with the lower brace 14 in Fig. 1) are employed to prevent displacement of the braces with respect to the jambs when the silo is being erected and thereafter whenever the shrinkage of the parts loosens the hoops. The outer surface of each brace lies in a continuation of the curve of the outer surfaces of the staves and jambs, so that the whole presents in cross-section a complete circle.

16 16 are the hoops holding the structure together, they passing over the braces and lying in contact with the braces, jambs, and staves.

The structure just described constitutes an arch which is the more strongly sustained the greater the tension on the hoops. Owing to the action of the Weatherl at different seasons, as already mentioned, the parts of the silo dry and shrink during the summer-time and the hoops loosen to suchan extent that when the filling of the silo occurs those in charge of the same sometimes deem it advisable to tighten up the hoops, and as a result of such tightening and the ensuing swelling of the staves and other parts a very great tension on the hoops is frequently produced. In'the described structure, however, such tension has no tendency to force either inward or outward the structure constituting the doorway or any portion thereof. The parts are so disposed that they may be proportioned in such a manner as not to permit of displacement or collapse.

nection with the general structure.

The interior surface of the silo, it will be seen,is smooth without projections or corners, which would interfere with the settling of the The door-sections are always capable of being moved freely and without dis' turbing the securing means employed in con-v It being feasible to constructthe braces 14 of Wood, they are not subject to the liability of breakage in cold weather, which is inherent in metal. Further, in case of any injury to the braces they may readily be replaced by the exercise of ordinary skill and with materials usually at hand.

In Fig. 3 there is shown a device for facilitating the erection ofthe doorway ot' the silo. Frequently the jambs of such doorway are of such considerable length that if they should be made each of a single piece the construction would become relatively expensive, and it is the practice to form each jamb of two or more pieces splined together. Thus in Fig. 3 the left -hand jamb is made up of pieces joined together at the points 20 and 21, while the right-hand jamb is similarly made up of pieces joined together at the point 24. The splines are indicated at 30, 31, and 32. When the parts of the doorway are assembled at the shop, stay-pieces 33 33 are applied across cer- Itain of the braces, they being of such length as to overlap upon the jambs. The staypieces are provided with bolt-holes, located, respectively, opposite the brace and jambs. Corresponding bolt-holes are then bored in the brace and jambs. Abolt 34 is passed through the corresponding holes in the brace and stay-piece, and a nut is applied thereto outside the stay-piece. The braces with the stay-pieces thus attached to them are then disconnected from the jambs and the parts are packed for shipment, they being suitably numbered for guidance in reassembling them on the ground where the silo is to be erected. At the latter place the assembling is effected and bolts 35 are inserted in the corresponding holes in the jambs and stay-pieces and are secured by nuts like the bolts 34. The doorway structure is thus rendered sufficiently rigid to be erected in place inproper relation to the remaining staves of the silo, and the hoops are applied and tightened. The staypieces then are or may be removed, they having served their purpose of insuring the eX- act positioning of the parts, so that the strains that exist shall be properly resisted and so that the door-sections shall fit truly and slide easily.

What I claim is- 1. In a silo, the combination of curved walls having an elongated opening therein, door-sections supported in the opening,braces across the opening in front of the door-'sections, having their outer surfaces continuing the curve of the Walls, and hoops encircling the walls and lying over the surfaces of the braces.

2. In a silo, the combination of curved walls having an elongated opening therein, jambs at the edges of the opening having inner surfaces iiaring in the direction of the opening, door-sections supported in the opening between the flaring parts of the jambs,

braces across the opening in front of the doorsections, having their outer surfaces continu- IOO IIO

'ing the curve of the walls, and hoops encircling the walls and lying over the surfaces of the braces.

3. In a silo, Ithe combination of curved walls having an elongated opening therein, door-sections located in the opening, braces across the opening in front of lthe door-sect tions, hoops encircling the walls, separate bolts `passing through the walls adjacent to the opening and connecting with the edges of `the door-sections to support the latter in place, and means to tighten and loosen the bolts.

4. In a silo, an elongated doorway comprising two opposite jambs, braces to hold the `jarnbs a predetermined distance apart, and

stay-pieces adapted to be applied to the braces and jambs to hold the same in proper relation during the erection of the silo.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANCIS S. LORD.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM J. MANN, LEPINE HALL RICE. 

